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Academic Library spending on all forms of electronic information grew 8% in 2003, according to a new study published by Primary Research Group Inc., The Survey of Academic Libraries, 2004 Edition (ISBN# 1-57440-067-3). The report is available for $80.00 (print version) and for $100.00 (electronic version).
(PRWEB) March 21, 2004 --The study reports results from a 2004 survey of academic libraries. Other results include:
| | - Mean spending on all electronic information resources by the libraries in the sample was $266,418 in 2003 with 4-year colleges outspending 2-year colleges by a factor of more than 13:1. Larger colleges spent far more per enrolled student than smaller colleges, perhaps reflecting hidden high price elasticities of demand for electronic information
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| | - Almost 41% of the libraries in the sample responded that they intend to aggressively reduce spending on print resources and use that money to increase spending on electronic resources. Two year colleges were the most likely to adopt this strategy, with nearly half stating this intention.
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| | - College libraries continue to add to their stock of databases with new subscriptions/acquisitions exceeding cancellations by a factor of more than 5:1.
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| | - Inter library loan still accounts for about three quarters of all acquisitions of articles that are needed but are not in a librarys general collection, but the convenience and speed of web site distribution direct from publishers have made an impact. A shade more than 6% of the articles acquired by 2-year colleges when there is a need for articles not found in the librarys general collection, are now pulled down from publishers web sites. For 4-year colleges, the percentage is 11.13%
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| | - A shade less than half of the libraries in the sample totally subsidized document delivery for patrons, a result that has been essentially unchanged over the past four years.
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| | - Many librarians are dissatisfied with the quality and cost of archival access to electronic information purchased on a subscription basis. Only a shade more than 20% of librarians say that they are satisfied, though another roughly 33% seem to feel that the issue is generally being dealt with and that the situation is getting better. Nonetheless, close to half of all librarians and more than 55% of librarians at 4-year colleges are dissatisfied with the situation and not confident that things are getting much better
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| | - Almost 62% of the librarys in the sample note that their responsibilities for educating patrons in a formal class setting in recent years have increased while only 8.33% say that such responsibilities have declined in recent years
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| | - The mean number of subscription agents used per library was 5 while the median was three.
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| | - The libraries in the sample spent a mean of about $85,000 on their cataloging departments in the past year (their total fiscal budget) but a median of only $33,000 with private colleges vastly outspending public ones.
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| | - 64% of libraries now catalog web resources Incredibly, nearly two thirds of the libraries in the sample say that they have significantly reorganized or redesigned their website within the past year," including more than 84% of community colleges. Ninety percent of the libraries in the sample answered reference questions by email with no dramatic differences between the types of libraries. However, the question volume is still relatively modest, with a mean of only 173 questions per year in 2003 and a median of only 83.
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| | - The libraries in the sample spent a mean of a bit more than $165,000 for traditional print books, still far far more than the relatively small sum ($3,705) spent for electronic books. Moreover, half of the libraries in the sample report that demand for books from their patrons has increased in the past two years, while only 16.67% say that such demand has decreased and a third say that it has remained about the same.
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| | - A shade more than half of the academic librarians in the sample felt that their salaries and benefits have more or less kept up with inflation" over the past year, while about 17% felt that their salaries/benefits had increased in real terms.
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To order, or more information or a review copy please contact: Phil Wong at 212-736-2316 or email at Primarydat@aol.com.
Order directly from Primary Research Group or through major book distributors. View all of our works on our web site at WWW.Primaryresearch.com.
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